In a phenotypic screen in mice using a gene trap approach in embryonic stem cells, we have identified a recessive loss-of-function mutation in the mgcRacGAP gene. Maternal protein is present in the oocyte, and mgcRacGAP gene transcription starts at the four-cell stage and persists throughout mouse pre-implantation development. Total mgcRacGAP deficiency results in pre-implantation lethality. Su...

Background: Pregnancy involves a continuum of complex biological processes. Each of them can be affected by the environment surrounding the pregnant female (e. g. chemicals, nutrition, stress, infection) and data have focused on gametes quality, early blastocyst development and placental function and their perturbations by environmental insults or embryo biotechnologies. During the pregnancy pe...

The protein content of fluids isolated from the lumen of the uterus of the ferret was correlated with growth of the pre-implantation embryo. Similar observations were made with mink for comparative purposes. Tt is concluded that in the ferret: Protein content rises coincidentally with blastocyst expansion, becoming especially high when the embryo is implanting. The proteins present early in the...

background: gnrh agonist and antagonist were developed to control the premature release of lh surge. there is some difference between two protocols. objective: we compared the outcome of frozen-thawed embryo transfer in infertile women who used gnrh agonist or antagonist protocol for previous coh cycle and evaluation of any adverse effect of gnrh antagonist on oocyte and embryo. materials and m...

In this study 60 couples undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedures were enrolled. All men were classified into two groups regarding to the DNA fractionation index (DFI) threshold value: group I < 15% and group II =or> 15%. In group I, median DFI was 4%, normal pre-implantation embryo development was observed and eleven pregnancies were achieved. In group II, median DFI was 2...

Introduction: Women with poorly controlled insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) have a much higher incidence of early pregnancy complications, these include spontaneous miscarriages, early growth delay, and congenital malformations. Most of the investigations have been devoted to the early post implantation and organogenesis period of pregnancy. In this research we studied the hyperglycem...

Lee CKF Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, The university of Hong Kong, China Email: [email protected]

Assessment of embryo quality in order to choose the embryos that most likely result in pregnancy is the critical goal in assisted reproductive technologies (ART). The current trend in human in vitro fertilization/embryo transfer (IVF/ET) protocols is to decrease the rate of multiple pregnancies after multiple embryo transfer with maintaining the pregnancy rate at admissible levels (according to...